nbartlet1

Hi, I am getting back into RC after a 15 year hiatus and would like to see if anyone can explain what are the most important aspects to look for in a charger. I have one 2S 5300 maH 70C lipo battery and plan to do some racing.

I was looking for an ac/dc charger, hopefully less than 100 but flexible on the price. I noticed that many chargers are DC and require power supply. Is there a big advantage to these? AC/DC seems more convenient. But do you need a charger with a power supply to do a discharge? If there are more advantages to DC perhaps I will go that route but looking for insight from other more experienced people.

I saw these two, they are cheaper but I figure I can upgrade later when I get more into it and just get something simple for now that gets me to the track

The ones I was looking at was the Reedy 423-S and the Turnigy Reaktor 300W 20A AC/DC synchronous balance charger

Thanks for any comments.

Iridium87

Hi nbartlet1

The imax b6 is super cheap and you can get them with the power supply for around $30. You can find them all over the web and some hobby shops carry them. Good enough to get you started.

disaster999

iTrader: (1)

Generally DC charger could have a higher charge rate that most AC/DC charger. Most AC/DC charger will only have a 6amp charge rate. The reasoning behind that, IMO, is to keep the cost and weight down for the charger. When you charge at a higher current, you would need a bigger power supply to do so. This would only make the charger more expensive, bigger and heavier. That being said, there are some high current/capacity chargers that are AC/DC. SkyRC D100 and D200 being one of them

You have more choices with DC chargers. There are numerous companies that makes all kinds of chargers to your needs. Power supplies can be found easily and they arent all that expensive. An old computer power supply, old server rack power supply, or cheapo 12V 20amp power supply from ebay would be enough. Also when you are in the field, you can hook up your charger to your car battery and charge a few cells for some extra run time (just be sure not to drain your car battery completely dead)

As to what charger to choose, if you are into club racing and competitive, or just want the most out of your batteries, you would want to get a good charger. You want a charger that have high precision and accuracy at measuring voltage and amperage so you wont over charge or discharge your batteries. Also you would want a charger that can measure the internal resistance of the battery so you can gauge the condition of the back and decide which one to use on your races.

Im a fan of iChargers since are pack full of all the features I just talked about. This is a nice charger if your only running 2S packs
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...e_Charger.html

The hobbyking charger you posted isnt bad. From what Ive read, its a iCharger 206B clone, but I question the build quality features. it might or might not have the internal resistance measurements

Scott_83

Being the fact your talking about chargers can I get some advice please if you don't mind.

I'm. Looking to get either the skyrc rs16 or the d100. I quite like the d100 as you can check you motors or is that just a gimmick to sell more. Which is better and do you really need the extras.

Cheers

disaster999

iTrader: (1)

I would lean more towards the D100 just because it has built in AC/DC and dual port charging. Its useful when you need to charge a lot of batteries at once.

I have the RS16 with the matching 17amp power supply. Its a nice compact package but I upgraded to the iCharger 308 Dual for its dual output and ability to measure internal resistance per cell.

Scott_83

Does the internal resistance show you how good the cells are?

Will look at the rs16 and the d100 and decide.

Just want to be sure what I'm buying so I don't end up buying twice.

disaster999

iTrader: (1)

The internal resistance allows you to gauge the condition of the cells. Lipo battery can supply more power if the internal resistance is low. Over time the resistance will increase with all lipo batteries and this will help you gauge what lipo pack would be better suited for a heat or the main.

Scott_83

OK thanks for your help